Visiting a doctor, getting medicine, or filling a prescription can be a very stressful when living in a foreign country. Many doctors do not speak English, and most pharmacies do not either. A great place to find both an English speaking doctor, and medicine at a great price is our local Farmicia GI (the GI stands for generic)

Farmacia GI is a chain of over 700 locations in Mexico. There are two in particular here in Manzanillo that we recommend very much. Both locations are run by an English speaking, and very friendly, family. We have found this to be a great place for foreigners to stop and pick up most medicines. These pharmacies were started in Mexico, largely to make medicine more affordable and more easily accessible to the public.

Products Available

The drugs at Farmacia GI are generic with prices at 75% off. They have mostly everything you could need, with the exception of controlled medication. Controlled meds basically include anything that affects the brain (prescription painkillers such as Valium, seizure meds, mental health medications). Controlled medications must be obtained by visiting a doctor, who will evaluate you and write out the prescription. Then you can get that prescription filled at a different pharmacy. Here we have seen controlled medicines at Walmart and Farmacia Guadalajara in locked down storage units. They don’t mess around with the stuff. It is closely monitored due to, you guessed it, drug trafficking. It is also a good idea to buy important medicine for serious conditions brand name for quality assurance. However, for most over the counter drugs, or antibiotics and the like, Farmacia GI is the place to get it.

They also have the unique feature of a hyperbaric chamber. This can be used for roughly 600 pesos. The chambers are used to treat a variety of injuries. Gomanzanillo has an interesting article on it here.

Doctor Consultation

There is also a doctor on hand to give you a consultation if you want. A doctor consult is 25 pesos. Can’t beat that! The doctor is also an army doctor and surgeon at the Naval base. He is a big friendly teddy bear who is very helpful, knowledgeable, and compassionate. The whole family speaks English, and we find it’s fairly easy to communicate our needs between all of them. If you show up and there is no one available who speaks English they will call one who does right there on the spot for you. Now that’s customer service.

Directions

The easiest location to access is directly off the Elias Zamora Blvd, diagonally across from the General Hospital (the one with the funny modern architecture).

The other pharmacy is on Emiliano Zapata in Salagua. Near the Cecati school, across the street from Commercial.

Your Support

After you visit and discover just how cheap the medication really is, you may wonder how they make their money? The truth is, they don’t. This family runs these pharmacies specifically to help people in need, they genuinely care. For many in Mexico even getting the 5 pesos they need for their medication is a challenge. So stop by and support of our local humanitarians who are honestly doing what they can to help others in need.

Sphere: Related Content

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to Our SWEET RSS feed. Thanks for visiting! Para español haga clic aquí

Related posts:

1. Local Restaurant Spotlight: Snack Ar
2. Book Exchange in English!